Album

Witold Rowicki's cycle of the symphonies of Antonin Dvorák with the London Symphony released on Philips in the late '60s and early '70s was only the second complete cycle of those works ever recorded. The first, István Kertész's Decca set from the mid-'60s, was also with the LSO. Rowicki's cycle has one huge advantage over Kertész's: the London musicians really knew the early symphonies after having learned them under the Hungarian conductor, and their playing here is much more polished than it was prior. Rowicki's cycle, though, has one huge disadvantage: Kertész's performances have a freshness and a sense of happy discovery that Rowicki cannot match.

Beyond advantages and disadvantages, the two cycles are wonderfully complimentary. Where Kertész's Dvorák is at heart a lyrical composer in the style of Schubert, who wrote symphonies full of great themes and beautiful melodies, Rowicki's Dvorák is essentially a dramatic composer in the style of Beethoven, who wrote symphonies full of strong forms and powerful rhythms. Rowicki's Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh are big-boned, hard-muscled works, while Kertész's are more openly heart-on-the-sleeve. Where Rowicki's Eighth and Ninth are rhetorical works of imposing magnificence, Kertész's have a celebratory, almost populist bent. The biggest contrast, however, is between the first four symphonies, works that were thought lost until after the Second World War. Kertész finds all the beauty there is in these youthful works, but Rowicki's more cogent and much more driven interpretations make a better case for them as symphonies. Sonically, both cycles exemplified the best of their companies at the time. Decca gave Kertész lush, deep, and colorful sound, while Philips gave Rowicki crisp, bright, and immediate sound. In the end, both sets are superlative and both belong in the collection of anyone who admires and enjoys Dvorák's symphonies.

© James Leonard, Rovi

CD 1 of 6
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.1 in C- ('The Bells of Zlonice'), B.9 Work Recorded 1907-1970 51:50 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.Allegro	16:12			$2.99
2	2.Adagio molto	13:38			$2.49
3	3.Allegretto	8:52			$1.49
4	4.Finale: Allegro animato	13:08			$2.49
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Carnival, Op.92 Work Recorded 1967 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
5	Carnival, Op.92	8:53			$1.49
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Ma Vlast (My Home), B.125a, Op.62 Work Recorded 1970-1971 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
6	Ma Vlast (My Home), B.125a, Op.62	10:24			$1.99
CD 2 of 6
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.6 in D, B.112, Op.60 (first published as No.1, Op.58) Work Recorded 1965 44:16 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.Allegro non tanto	16:57			$2.99
2	2.Adagio	9:31			$1.49
3	3.Scherzo (Furiant): Presto	8:10			$1.49
4	4.Finale: Allegro con spirito	9:38			$1.49
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.2 in Bb, B.12, Op.4 Work Recorded 1907-1970 52:03 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
5	1.Allegro con molto	15:08			$2.49
6	2.Poco adagio	15:12			$2.49

CD 3 of 6
1	3.Scherzo: Allegro con brio	11:36			$1.99
2	4.Finale: Allegro con fuoco	10:07			$1.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.4 in D-, B.41, Op.13 Work Recorded 1907-1970 41:57 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
3	1.Allegro	12:31			$1.99
4	2.Andante sostenuto e molto cantabile	13:26			$2.49
5	3.Allegro feroce	6:34			$0.99
6	4.Allegro con brio	9:26			$1.49
CD 4 of 6
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.3 in Eb, B.34, Op.10 Work Recorded 1970-1971 35:55 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.Allegro moderato	11:35			$1.99
2	2.Adagio molto	15:34			$2.49
3	3.Finale: Allegro vivace	8:46			$1.49
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.5 in F, B.54, Op.76 (first published as No.3) Work Recorded 1967 37:01 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
4	1.Allegro ma non troppo	11:21			$1.99
5	2.Andante con moto	7:02			$1.49
6	3.Scherzo: Allegro scherzando	7:50			$1.49
7	4.Finale: Allegro molto	10:48			$1.99
CD 5 of 6
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.7 in D-, B.141, Op.70 (first published as No.2) Work Recorded 1970-1971 38:04 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.Allegro maestoso	10:42			$1.99
2	2.Poco adagio	10:15			$1.99
3	3.Scherzo vivace. Poco meno mosso	7:44			$1.49
4	4.Finale: Allegro	9:23			$1.49
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.8 in G, B.163, Op.88 (first published as No.4) Work Recorded 1969 35:42 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
5	1.Allegro con brio	9:50			$1.49
6	2.Adagio	11:10			$1.99
7	3.Scherzo: Allegretto grazioso	6:02			$0.99
8	4.Allegro ma non troppo	8:40			$1.49
CD 6 of 6
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Symphony No.9 in E- ('From the New World'), Op.95 Work Recorded 1969 41:49 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.Adagio. Allegro molto	11:33			$1.99
2	2.Largo (containing theme 'Going Home')	11:32			$1.99
3	3.Scherzo: Molto vivace	7:51			$1.49
4	4.Allegro con fuoco	10:53			$1.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Othello, B.174, Op.93 Work Recorded 1907-1970 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
5	Othello, B.174, Op.93	14:15			$2.49
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Hussite Overture, B.132, Op.67 Work Recorded 1970-1971 Witold Rowicki Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
6	Hussite Overture, B.132, Op.67	14:52			$2.49